Surveyors' range poles are now widely standardized to come in four-foot sections, each with a threaded pin on one end and a threaded hole at the other. These short lengths can be conveniently carried in a small truck or car and can be connected together to construct a pole of any required height. A sharp tapered steel point can be threaded to the bottom section for insertion of the pole into sod, and mounting tripods are commercially available for terrain that cannot be penetrated by the steel point. Commonly, the same man will set the pole and man the transit from different sites. A conventional way of determining that the pole is vertical in the line of sight is to align it visually against the string of a plumb bob. But this does not assure the that the pole will be vertical from another line of sight.
Sections of range pole are available with built-in bubble levels and one of these sections may be included in the pole when it is set up. But such sections are relatively expensive and must be entirely replaced upon any damage to the bubble.
In patent 2584586 Frazier suggests the inclusion of recesses for bubble levels in an impregnated softwood beam that may be used as a surveyors' rod. Frazier's rod is not sectionalized and replacement of a damaged level would put the rod out of service.
Chaires patent 4146969 describes a rod section that includes a built-in level, as mentioned above.
Lunden patent 3855710 describes a bracket that can be bolted to a rod to support a circular centering level.